It took me about a year to be able to put my feelings and experiences from this fantastic place down on paper.
The old watermill in Kyparissia, my father’s hometown, which I got to know and love when I was older.
Is a place where you can tell at first glance that there is a great love for the land, history, and tradition.
Here, hospitality meets tradition and opens your heart from the moment you arrive.
The miller’s smile charms you and, combined with the delicacies prepared by the miller’s wife in the wood-fired oven, completely changes your mood.
I went inside and was greeted by the aroma of upside down apple pie and spinach pie that had just come out of the oven.
But let’s start from the beginning.
I really wanted to revisit my father’s childhood home. Τo relive his stories from his childhood in Kyparissia, to see his house in the upper town again. Walk down the old stone alley with its wide steps and abandoned shops that my grandfather used to walk down.
I wanted to gaze out over the city from the castle and be enchanted once again by the sunset. Lost deep in the Ionian Sea to the south of Sicily.
A trip to Pylos to explore the castle, to see the beach of Voidokilia up close.
To pass by Nestor’s palace.
I desired to dive into Polylimnio and ride horses on the pine-covered beach at Neraki.
So there, in the Upper Town, I encountered the Old Watermill for the first time. With a sign that took me behind the castle and along a dirt road to the provincial road to Mylos. An area I saw on my left as I was coming to Kyparissia.
The area is lush with fruit trees and olive trees, with water running alongside the narrow road to Mylos…
The journey is quick, one of the best ten-minute detours I have ever taken in my life.
Because the visit to the old watermill is well worth it!!!
Up the road, you see an old two-story building in the classic architecture of the Greek countryside.
Stone and tiles, without any intervention of modern bad taste, with all kinds of concrete blocks and sheet metal.
The watermill
You open the small wooden door and find yourself transported back a hundred years… A buzzing sound to your left draws your attention. Ιn front of your eyes you see a miller surrounded by flour. Is fighting with the large stone that turns and grinds the wheat.
He adjusts the force of the water, occasionally dipping his hand into the prepared flour. Τo see if the grinding is correct.
The miller’s broad smile and cheerful greeting will brighten your day.
Mr. Nasos, the miller, will explain in detail how the old watermill works. Together, you will tour the entire estate with its orange trees. Ηe will teach you how aromatic plants are dried. Ecologically, using the sun, and at the end you will have a cup of coffee. Greek, of course, with an apple pie made by the miller’s wife, just like my mother used to make.
Tsipouro in the garden
As we chatted, noon arrived, the pies came out of the wood-fired oven, and the glasses were filled with tsipouro.
The old cast-iron stove was burning at full blast. Τhe warm glow of the people kept me going until late at night.
I could never have imagined that I would spend an entire day at the old watermill.
Now that you’ve come this far, you should visit Peristeria, right next door. You’ll be thrilled by the Mycenaean tomb, the miller suggested.
On my return, I found myself laden with a pile of goodies, all homemade. Mostly pasta and, of course, noodles made from flour that is still ground in the traditional way in the old watermill.
I often find myself traveling back there in my mind. My heart fills with smiles and greetings, and I reminisce about pies, tsipouro, and conversations. Together with warm-hearted people, gathered around the wood stove.
For more information
Old Watermill
Mills of Kyparissia Messinia
Phone. 2761 025 797 & 693 69 88 004
http://www.opaliosneromylos.gr/
Texts and photos by GiorgioGrigor
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Watch the video we made for you to get a more complete view of this wonderful monument, still unknown to many.
